Exercise 1
Passage 1
A ctually, though, America, the “land of immigrants”, has always had people of many different nationalities and languages. The 1990 census (人口普查) indicates that almost 14% ofAmericans speak a non-English language at home. Yet only 3% reported that they spoke English “not well” or “not at all ”. That means that slightly more than one out of 10 Americans could be considered bilingual. Besides that, many high school and college students-and even some elementery school students-are required to take a foreign language as a part of their curriculum. In addition to old standbys(受人喜爱的语种) like Spanish, German and Franch, more and more students are opting Eastern European and Asian languages. Of course, not all students keep up their foreign language abilities. As the old saying goes, “If you don’t use it .” But still, a growing number of Americans are coming to appreciate the benefits of being multilingual.
Ethnic enclaves(少数民族聚居地), found particularly in major metropolitan centers, have preserved the language and culture of American immigrants. Some local residents can function quite well in their native language, without having to bother learning English. Rogions such as southern Florida and the Southwest have numerous Spanish-speaking neighborhoods. In fact, Spanish speakers-numbering over 17 million-compose the largest non-English linguistic group in America. But Chinese, Vietnamese, Italian,Polish and many other ethnic group add to the linguistic flavor of America. Foreign languages are so commonly used in some ethnic neighborhoods that visitors might think they are in another country!
Although some Americans welcome this linguistic and cultural diversity, other have begun to fear that the English language is being threatened. Since the 1980s, the “English Only ” movement has sought to promote legislation which would establish En glish as the “official language” and restrict the use of non-English language. However, some groups, including TESOL, the organization for Teachers of English to Speakers of Other language, object to such “language restrictionism”. Their view, known as “English Plus”, suggests that Americans should have respect for people’s native help them fit into the mainstream of society. But so far, 19 states have passed English Only legislation, and the topic is the focus of an ongoing debate.
Whether or not Engliash is the official language of the United States, it remains the “language of wider communication”. Nearly everyone recognizes the need to develop proficiency in English in order to do well in America. To help those who want to brush up on their English skills, English as a Second Language (ESL) classes around. Cities with large numbers of recent immigrants often set up bilingual education programs to teach students content subjects in their native language while they improve their English. Language educators often have strong and divergent views as to which approach helps learners achieve better results: a bilingual approach, an ESL approach-or even a pure immersion(“sink or swim”) approach. However, all these teachers share a common commitment: to help students function well in English.
American recognize that English is the international language, and people with good English skills can get by in many international settings. On the other hand, in a world growing increasingly smaller, second language skills can be a great favor. They can build cross-cultural bridges and give people an edge in a variety of career field. Indeed, lack of foreign language proficiency can limit one’s chances for advancement and keep one in a cultural dead-end street. As many people in America are discovering, being monolingual is no laughing matter. (598 words)
1. The word “bilingual” (Line 7,para,1) means_________.
A. being able to speak two languages
B. being able to speak three languages
C. being able to speak four languages
D. being able to speak five languages
2. Foreign languages are commonly used in some ethnic neighborhoods because__________.
A. ethnic groups have preserved their native languages
B. ethnic groups are not allowed to speak English
C. ethnic groups encourage their natives to learn foreign languages
D. ethnic groups allow their natives to go to another country
3. _________compose the largest linguistic group in America.
A. Immigrants from China
B. Immigrants from Spain
C. Immigrants from Italy
D.Immigrants from Vietnam
4. Which of the following is TRUE about “English Only” movement?
A. Its purpose was to establish a legislation of restricting the use of English.
B. TESOL was in favor of “English Only ” by objecting to “English plus”.
C. It was launched because English was being threatened.
D. A large majority of states supported the movement.
5. The general idea of this passage is_________.
A. the importance of being bilingual
B. the need to speak the native languages
C. English-a language widely spoken around the world
D. the English Only movement
Passage 2
The Guidford Four, freed last week after spending 15 years in prison for crimes they did not commit, would almost certainly have been executed for the pub bombing they were convicted of. They had the death penalty been in force at the time of their trial. They may now be a decent interval before the pro-hanging lobby, which has the support of the Prime Minister, makes another attempt to reintroduce the noose.
Reflections along these lines were about the only kind of consolation to be derived from this gross miscarriage of justice which is now to be the subject of a judicia l(司法的) inquiry. In the meantime, defense lawyers are demanding compensation and have in mind about half a million pounds for each of their clients.
The first three to be released-Mr. Gerald Conlon, Mr. Paddy Armstrong and Ms. Carole Richardson-left prison with the 34 pounds which is given to all departing inmates. The fourth, Mr. Paul Hill, was not released immediately but taken to Belfast, where he lodged an appeal against his conviction for the murder of a former British soldier. Since this conviction, too, was based on the now discredited statements allegedly made to the Survey police, he was immediately let out on bail(保释). But he left empty-handed.
The immediate reaction to the scandal was renewed demand for the re-examination of the case against the Birmingham Six, who are serving life sentences for pub bombings in that city.
Thus far the Home secretary, Mr. Douglas Hurd, is insisting that the two cases are not comparable; that what is now known about the Guilford investigation has no relevance to what happened in Birmingham.
Mr. Hurd is right to the extent that there was a small-though flimsy and hotly-contested-amount of crime evidence in the Birmingham case. The disturbing similarity is that the Birmingham Six, like the Guilford Four, claim that police officers lied and fabricated evidence to secure a conviction.
Making scapegoats(替罪羊) of a few rogue police officers will not be sufficient to eliminate the Guilford miscarriage of justice. These are already demands that the law should be changed; first to make it impossible to convict on “confessions” alone; and secondly to require th at statements from accused persons should only be taken in the presence of an independent third patty to ensure they are not made under punishment.
It was also being noted this week that the Guilford Four owe their release more to be persistence of investigative reporters than to the diligence of either the judiciary or the police. Yet investigative reports-particularly on television-have recently been a particular target for the condemnation of Mrs. Thatcher and some of her ministers who seem to think that TV should be muzzled(钳制言论的手段) in the public interest and left to get on with soap operas and quiz shows. (495words)
1. The word “noose”(Line 7, Para. 1) has the closest meaning to ________.
A. death penalty
B. hanging
C. trial
D.punishment
2. To compensate the miscarriage of justice, the defense lawyers may_________.
A. demand 500,000 pounds for the Guilford Four
B. demand 500,000 pounds for each of the Guilford Four
C. demand 1,000,000 pounds for each of the Guilford Four
D. demand a re-examination of the Birmingham pub bombings
3. Why was there a renewed demand for the re-examination of the case against the Birmingham Six?
A. The Birmingham Six were believed to have criminal connections with the Guilford Four.
B. The two cases were similar in that both were about pub bombings.
C. The bombings in Birmingham happened at the same time.
D. The Birmingham Six also claimed that there were police malpractice’s in their case.
4. The existing law states that________.
A. convictions can be made on confessions and statements taken by police officers from accused persons are valid legal evidence
B. convictions can’t be made on confessions alone and there should be a third party when taking statements from accused persons
C. convictions can be made on confessions and a third party should be present when taking statements from accused persons
D. convictions can’t be made on confessions alone and the statements taken by police officers from accused persons are valid legal evidence
5. According to the article, which of the following parties contributed most to the release of the Guilford Four?
A. Reporters
B. Lawyers
C. The police
D. The judiciary
Passage 3
Proxemics(空间关系学) is the study of what governs how closely one person stands to another. People who feel close will be close, though the actual distances will vary between cultures. For Amreicans we can discern four main categories of distance: intimate, personal, social and public. Intimate ranges from direct contact to about 45 centimeters. This is for the closest relationships such as those between husband and wife. Beyond this comes personal distance. This stands at between 45 and 80 centimeters. It is the most usual distance maintained for conversations between friends and relatives. Social distance covers people who work together or are meeting at social gatherings. Distances here tend to be kept between 1.30 to 2 meters. Beyond this comes public distance, such as that between a lecturer and his audience.
All cultures draw lines between what is an appropriate and what is an inappropriate social distance for different types of relationship. They differ, however, in where they draw these lines. Look at an international reception withrepresentatives from the US and Arabic countries conversing and you will see the Americans pirouetting(快速旋转) backwards around the hall pursued by their Arab partners. The Americans will be trying to keep the distance between themselves and their partners which they have grown used to regarding as “normal”. They probably will not even notice themselves trying to adjust the distance between themselves and their partners, though they may have vague feeling that their Arab neighbors are being a bit “pushy”. The Arab, on the other hand, coming from a culture where much closer distance is the norm, may be feeling that the Americans are being “stand-offish”. Finding themselves happier standing close to and even touching those they are in conversation with they will persistently pursue the Americans round the room trying to close the distance between them.
The appropriateness of physical contact varies between different cultures too. One study of the number of times people conversing in coffee shops over a one hour period showed the following interesting variations: London, 0; Florida, 2; Paris, 10; and Puerto Rico 180. Not only dose it vary between societies, however, it also varies between different subcultures within one society. Young people in Britain, for example, are more likely to touch and hug friends than are the older generation. This may be partly a matter of growing older, but it also reflects the fact that the older generation grew up at a time when touching was less common for all age groups. Forty years ago, for example, footballers would never hug and kiss one another on the field after a goal as they do today. (458 words)
1.In proxemics, __________governs the standing space between two persons.
A. distance
B. culture
C. conversation
D. relationship
2.The word “stand-offish”(Line 14, Para. 2) could best be replaced by_________.
A. cold and distant in behaviour
B. ungentlemanlike in behaviour
C. inhuman in behaviour
D. polite in behaviour
3. In conversation with an American partner at an international reception, an Arab deems that close distant is _________.
A. appropriate
B. inappropriate
C. rash
D. impetuous
4. We can infer from the third paragragh that the appropriateness of physical contact also
varies with_________.
A. time
B. city
C. country
D. people
5. The best title for the passage would be __________.
A. Proxemics
B. Appropriateness of Social Distance
C. Appropriateness Relationships Between Two Persons
D. Appropriateness Physical Contact Between Two Persons
Passage 4
In the past century Irish painting has changes from a British-influenced lyrical tradition to an art that evokes the ruggedness and roots of an Irish Celtic past. At the turn of the twentieth century Irish painters, including notables Walter Frederick Osborne and Sir William Orpen, looked elsewhere for influence. Osborne’s exposure to “plein air” painting deeply impacted his stylistic development; and Orpen allied himself with a group of English artists, while at the same time participated in the French avant-garde experiment, both as painter and teacher.
However, nationalist energies were beginning to coalesce (接合)，reviving interest in Irish culture-including Irish visual arts. Beatrice Elvery’s (1907), a landmark achievement, merged the devotional simplicity of fifteenth-century Italian painting with the iconography (肖像画法) of Ireland’s Celtic past, linking the hi story of Irish Catholicism with the still-nasce t (初生的) Irish republic. And, although also captivated by the French plein air school, Sir John Lavery invoked the mythology of his native land for a 1928 commission to paint the central figure for the bank note of the new Irish Free State. Lavery chose as this figure, with her arm on a Celtic harp (竖琴)，the national symbol of independent Ireland.
In Irish painting from about 1910, memories of Edwardian romanticism coexisted with a new sense of realism,exemplifi ed by the paintings of Paul Henry and Se Keating, a student of Orpen’s. realism also crept into the work of Edwardians Lavery and Orpen, both of whom made paintings depicting World WarⅠ,Lavery with a distanced Victorian nobility, Orpen closer to the front, revealing a more sinister and realistic vision. Meanwhile, counterpoint to the Edwardians and realists came Jack B. Yeats, whose travels throughout the rugged and more authentically Irish West led him to depict subjects ranging from street scenes in Dublin to boxing matches and funerals. Fusing close observations of Irish life and icons with an Irish identity in a new way, Yeats changed the face of Irish painting and became the most important Irishartist of his century. (353 words)
1. Which of the following art most probably exerted the greatest influence on Irish painting in the 19th century?
A. British lyrical tradition
B. French avant-garde experiment
C. notionalist energies
D. Italian painting
2. It is implied_________was least influenced by the contemporary art of Frence.
A. Sir John Lavery
B. Sir William Orpen
C. Beatrice Elvery
D. Se Keating
3. Which of the following best explains the author’s use of the word “counterpoint” in
referring to Yeats?
A. Yeats’ paintings differed significantly in subje ct matter from those of his contemporaries in Ireland.
B. Yeats reacted to the realism of his contemporary artists by invoking nineteenth-century naturalism in his own painting style.
C. Yeats avoided religious and mythological themes in favor of mundane portrayals of Irish life.
D. Yeats built upon the realism painting tradition, elevating it to unprecedented artistic heights.
4. The author points out the coexistence of romanticism and realism most probably in order to show that_________.
A. Irish painters of the early twentieth century tended to romanticize the harsh reality of war
B. for a time painters from each school influenced painters from the other school
C. Yeats was influenced by both the romantic and realist schools of Irish painting
D. the transition in Irish painting from one predominant style to the other was not an abrupt one
5. The most likely topic of the paragraph followed is _________.
A. The Role of Celtic Mythology in Irish Painting
B. Who Deserves Credit for the Preeminence of Yeats among Irish Painters?
C. Realism vs. Romanticism: Ireland’s Struggle for National Identity
D. Irish Paintings: Reflections of an Emerging Independent State
Passage 1
1. A 猜测词义题。根据第一段第四句“That means that slightly more than…”得出此结论。
2. A 推论题。根据第二段第二句“Some local residents can…”得出此结论。
3. B 推论题。根据第二段第四句“In fact, Spanish speakers…”得出此结论。
4. C 推论题。根据第三段可得出此结论。
5. A 判断题。根据最后一段最后一句“As many people in America…”得出此结论。
Passage 2
1. B 猜测词义题。在此意思是“绞刑”。
2. B 细节题。在文中第二段的最后一句中可以得到正确答案。
3. D 事实细节题。在文中第五段最后一句中提到“…police officers… a conviction.”因此D项为正确选项。
4. A 细节引申题。从文中第五，六段可以知道A项为正确选项。
5. A 细节理解题。从文中的最后一段第一句“It was also…or the police.”可以看出A项为正确选项。
Passage 3
1. D 推论题。根据第一段第二句前半句“People who feel close will be close…”得出此结论。
2. A 猜测词义题。根据第一，二内容段倒数第二句得出此结论。
3. A 推论题。根据第二段倒数第二句“The Arab, on the other hand, coming from…”得出此结论。
4. A 推论题。根据第三段最后一句“Forty years ago, for example, footballers would…”得出此结论。
5. A 综合理解兼判断题。通读全文可作出判断。
Passage 4
1.A 细节题。根据是第一段第一句。
2.A 细节题。根据是第二段第三句“…although also captivated by the French…，Sir John Lavery…the new Irish Free State.”
3.A细节题。根据是第三段第三句“…whose travels throughout the rugged and more authentically Irish West…”
4.D 推理题。根据是第三段第一句。
5.D 推理题。根据第三段最后一句可以推断作者在下文将要谈及的内容。
2017年6月英语六级阅读真题及答案第1套选词填空 After becoming president of Purdue University in2013, Mitch Daniels asked the faculty to prove that their students have actually achieved one of higher education’s most important goals: critical thinking skills. Two years before, a nationwide study of college graduates had shown that more than a third had made no 26 gains in such mental abilities during their school years. Mr. Daniels needed to__27__ the high cost of attending Purdue to its students and their families. After all, the percentage of Americans who say a college degree is "very important" has fallen 28 in the last 5-6 years. Purdue now has a pilot test to assess students' critical thinking skills. Yet like many college " such as a graduate's ability to investigate and reason. However, the professors need not worry so much. The results of a recent experiment showed that professors can use __31__ metrics to measure how well students do in three key areas: critical thinking, written communication, and quantitative literacy. Despite the success of the experiment, the actual results are worrisome, and mostly __32__ earlier studies. The organizers of the experiment concluded that far fewer students were achieving high levels on critical thinking than they were doing for written communication or quantitative literacy. And that conclusion is based only on students nearing graduation. American universities, despite their global 33__ for excellence in teaching, have only begun to demonstrate what they can produce in real-world learning. Knowledge-based degrees are still important, but employers are still important, but employers are __34__ advanced thinking skills from college graduates. If the intellectual worth of a college degree can be __35__ measured, more people will seek higher education—and come out better thinkers. A. accurately B. confirm C. demanding D. doubtful E. drastically F. justify G. monopolized H. outcome I. predominance J. presuming K. reputation L. significant M. signify N. simultaneously O. standardized 答案：(26)L. significant (27)F. justify (28)E. drastically (29)D. doubtful (30)H. outcome (31)O. standardized (32)B. confirm (33)K. reputation (34)C. demanding (35)A. accurately 2017年6月英语六级阅读真题及答案第1套仔细阅读2篇 Open data sharers are still in the minority in many fields. Although many researchers broadly agree that public access to raw data would accelerate science, most are reluctant to post the results of their own labors online. Some communities have agreed to share online—geneticists, for example, post DNA sequence sat the GenBank repository (库) , and astronomers are accustomed to accessing images of galaxies and stars from, say, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, a telescope that has observed some500 million objects—but these remain the excepti on, not the rule. Historically, scientists have objected to sharing for many reasons: it is a lot of work; until recently, good databases did not
大学英语六级阅读理解专题训练 2016年下半年英语四六级迫在眉睫，同学们准备得如何了?下面是网提供给大家关于大学阅读理解专题训练，希望对大家的备考有所帮助。 What is it about Americans and food? We love to eat, but we feel 1 about it afterward. We say we want only the best, but we strangely enjoy junk food. We’re 2 with health and weight loss but face an unprecedented epidemic of obesity(肥胖). Perhaps the 3 to this ambivalence(矛盾情结) lies in our history. The first Europeans came to this continent searching for new spices but went in vain. The first cash crop(经济作物) wasn’t eaten but smoked. Then there was Prohibition, intended to prohibit drinking but actually encouraging more 4 ways of doing it. The immigrant experience, too, has been one of inharmony. Do as Romans do means eating what “real Americans” eat, but our nation’s food has come to be 5 by imports—pizza, say, or hot dogs. And some of the country’s most treasured cooking comes from people who arrived here in shackles. Perhaps it should come as no surprise then that food has been a medium for the nation’s defining struggles, whether at the Boston Tea Party or the sit ins at southern lunch counters. It is integral to our concepts of health and even morality whether one refrains from alcohol for religious reasons or evades meat for political 6 . But strong opinions have not brought 7 . Americans are ambivalent about what they put in their mouths. We have become 8 of our foods, especially as we learn more about what they contain. The 9 in food is still prosperous in the American consciousness. It’s no coincidence, then, that the first Thanksgiving holds the American imagination in such bondage(束缚). It’s w hat we eat—and how we 10 it with friends, family, and strangers—that help define America as a community today. A. answer I. creative B. result J. belief C. share K. suspicious D. guilty L. certainty E. constant M. obsessed F. defined N. identify
2018年12月英语六级阅读练习题及答案（五） Everyone has a moment in history, which belongs particularly to him. It is the moment when his emotions achieve their most powerful sway over him, and afterward when you say to this person ―the world today‖ or ―life‖ or ―reality‖ he will assume that you mean this moment, even if it is fifty years past. The world, through his unleashed(释放的)emotions, imprinted itself upon him, and he carries the stamp of that passing moment forever. For me, this momentfour years in a moment in historywas the war. The war was and is reality for me. I still instinctively live and think in its atmosphere. These are some of its characteristics: Franklin Delano Roosevelt is the president of the United States, and he always has been. The other two eternal world leaders are Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin. America is not, never has been, and never will be what the song and poems call it, a land of plenty. Nylon, meat, gasoline, and steel are rare. There are too many jobs and not enough workers. Money is very easy to earn but rather hard to spend, because there isnt very much to buy. Trains are always late and always crowded with ―service men‖. The war will always be fought very far from America, and it will never end. Nothing in America stands still for very long, including the people who are
大学英语六级第一次模考试题阅读
Passage One Questions 52 to 56 are based on the following passage. The 35 percent of African-American youth living in poverty are the most visible victims of what is often called the achievement gap. But black children of all socioeconomic levels perform worse on national tests and graduate in fewer numbers than their white middle-class peers. A study by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics found that African-American students scored, on average, 26 points lower than white students on their reading and math tests. Some say, as Harvard psychologist Richard J. Herrnstein and American Enterprise Institute political scientist Charles Murray did in their 1994 book, The Bell Curve, that the cause is genetic. And though The Bell Curve has been discredited in scientific circles, the idea that IQ is somehow linked to race has been slow to retreat. Others, like Cornell University researchers Gary Evans and Michelle Schamberg, believe that “physiological stress is a plausible model for how poverty could get into the brain and eventually interfere with achievement,” as they wrote in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Our best efforts at narrowing the gap nationally — think No Child Left Behind —haven’t worked. But locally, there are now signs of hope. At the Harlem
大学英语六级阅读模拟试题及答案 第一篇 A scientific panel convened by the World Health Organization recommended guidelines on Friday for doctors conducting clinical studies of SARS patients. The panel urged doctors to apply the guidelines in analyzing the masses of potentially useful information about various therapies that were collected in this year’s epidemic. Much of that information has not been published or analyzed. “It is a matter of urgency to get better analysis and review,” said Dr. Simon Mardel, a WHO official who led the two-day meeting that ended on Friday. He said thousands of potential therapies and compounds had been tested so far as researchers try to determine treatments for SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome. “We recognize that having no treatment for SARS is hindering our ability to control an epidemic in so many ways.” He said. In the epidemic earlier this year, various treatments, like drugs to fight the virus or strengthen the immune system, as well as traditional Chinese medicine, were delivered under emergency conditions, in widely different settings and countries to patients suffering from varying stages of the illness. Those conditions—generally without standardized measurements or controlled situations—have made it hard to interpret results. Standard supportive therapy like nursing, and in severe cases the use of mechanical respirators（呼吸器）to help patients breathe, is the mainstay（主要支持）of SARS care, and helped many patients survive. But doctors still do not know how best to treat SARS patients who have breathing difficulties. Dr. Mardel said. One method is invasive ventilation. A second method involves blowing oxygen into the lungs through a mask. Both carry the risk of transmitting the virus to hospital employees. Without proper analysis, the panel was unable to say definitively which treatment worked best, or which caused the most harm. “There is a lack of shared information,” Dr. Mardel said, noting that a lot of data have not been published. The panel also agreed on guidelines that would allow doctors to conduct quick and safe clinical trials, a process that generally takes years to complete. The world Health Organization, a United Nations agency did not release the guidelines. Dr. Mardel said they were flexible because no one knew where, when and in what setting SARS would return. Experts in many countries have already listed the treatments they want to test, and the health agency is leaving these decisions to individual nations. 1. Guidelines recommended by the scientific panel can be used for _____. A. gathering potentially useful information about various therapies collected B. conducting clinical studies of SARS patients C. determining treatment for SARS D. publishing all the information about SARS
2018年6月大学英语六级考试仔细阅读真题解析（卷二） Section C Directions:There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A),B),C)and D).You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. Passage One Questions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage. Economically speaking, are we better off than we were ten years ago? Twenty years ago? In their thirst for evidence on this issue, commentators seized on the recent report by the Census Bureau, which found that average household income rose by 5.2% in 2015. Unfortunately, that conclusion puts too much weight on a useful, but flawed and incomplete, statistic. Among the more significant problems with the Census’s measure are that: 1) it excludes taxes, transfers, and compensation like employer-provided health insurance; and 2) it is based on surveys rather than data. Even if precisely measured, income data exclude important determinants of economic well-being, such as the hours of work needed to earn that income. While thinking about the question, we came across a recently published article by Charles Jones and Peter Klenow, which proposes an interesting new measure of economic welfare. While by no means perfect, it is considerably more comprehensive than average income, taking into account not only growth in consumption per person but also changes in working time, life expectancy, and inequality. Moreover, it can be used to assess economic performance both across countries and over time. The Jones-Klenow method can be illustrated by a cross-country example. Suppose we want to compare the economic welfare of citizens of the U.S. and France in 2005. In 2005, as the authors observe, real consumption per person in France was only 60% as high as the U.S., making it appear that Americans were economically much better off than the French on average. However, that comparison omits other relevant factors: leisure time, life expectancy, and economic inequality. The French take longer vacations and retire earlier, so typically work fewer hours; they enjoy a higher life expectancy, presumably reflecting advantages with respect to health care, diet, lifestyle, and the like; and income and consumption are somewhat more equally distributed there than in the U.S. Because of these differences, comparing France’s consumption with the U.S.’s overstates
Reading Comprehension for CET 6 Passage 1 In the 1962 movie Lawrence of Arabia,one scene shows an American newspaper reporter eagerly snapping photos of men looting a sabotaged train.One of the looters,Chief Auda abu Tayi of the Howeitat clan,suddenly notices the camera and snatches it.Am I in this?he asks,before smashing it open.To the dismayed reporter,Lawrence explains,He thinks these things will steal his virtue.He thinks you're a kind of thief. As soon as colonizers and explorers began taking cameras into distant lands,stories began circulating about how indigenous peoples saw them as tools for black magic.The ignorant natives may have had a point.When photography first became available,scientists welcomed it as a more objective way of recording faraway societies than early travelers' exaggerated accounts.But in some ways,anthropological photographs reveal more about the culture that holds the camera than the one that stares back.Up into the 1950s and 1960s,many ethnographers sought pure pictures of primitive cultures,routinely deleting modern accoutrements such as clocks and Western dress.They paid men and women to re-enact rituals or to pose as members of war or hunting parties,often with little regard for veracity.Edward Curtis,the legendary photographer of North American Indians,for example,got one Makah man to pose as a whaler with a spear in 1915--even though the Makah had not hunted whales in a generation. These photographs reinforced widely accepted stereotypes that indigenous cultures were isolated,primitive,and unchanging.For instance,National Geographic magazine's photographs have taught millions of Americans about other cultures.As Catherine Lutz and Jane Collins point out in their 1993 book Reading National Geographic,the magazine since its founding in 1888 has kept a tradition of presenting beautiful photos that don't challenge white,middle-class American conventions.While dark-skinned women can be shown without tops,for example,white women's breasts are taboo.Photos that could unsettle or disturb,such as areas of the world torn asunder by war or famine,are discarded in favor of those that reassure,to conform with the society's stated pledge to present only kindly visions of foreign societies.The result,Lutz and Collins say,is the depiction of an idealized and exotic world relatively free of pain or class conflict. Lutz actually likes National Geographic a lot.She read the magazine as a child,and its lush imagery influenced her eventual choice of anthropology as a career.She just thinks that as people look at the photographs of other cultures,they should be alert to the choice of composition and images. 1.The main idea of the passage is______________. [A]Photographs taken by Western explorers reflect more Westerners’ perception of the indigenous cultures and the Western values. [B]There is a complicated relationship between the Western explorers and the primitive peoples. [C]Popular magazines such as National Geographic should show pictures of the exotic and idealized worlds to maintain high sales. [D]Anthropologists ask the natives to pose for their pictures,compromising the truthfulness of their pictures. 2.We can infer from the passage that early travelers to the native lands often_________. [A]took pictures with the natives [B]gave exaggerated accounts of the native lands
大学英语六级阅读理解练习及答案 导读：我根据大家的需要整理了一份关于《大学英语六级阅读理解练习及答案》的内容，具体内容：下面是我给大家整理的，希望对大家有帮助。Laziness is a sin(罪), everyone knows that. We have probably all had ... 下面是我给大家整理的，希望对大家有帮助。 Laziness is a sin(罪), everyone knows that. We have probably all had lectures pointing out that laziness is immoral, that it is wasteful, and that lazy people will never amount to anything in life. But laziness can be more harmful than that, and it is often caused by more complex reasons rather than simple wish to avoid work. Some people who appear to be lazy are suffering from much more serious problems. They may be so distrustful of their fellow workers that they are unable to join in any group task for fear of ridicule or of having their idea stolen. These people who seem lazy may be ruined by a fear of failure that prevents fruitful work. Or other sorts of fantasies (幻想) may prevent work; some people are so busy planning, sometimes planning great deals of fantastic achievements that they are unable to deal with whatever "lesser" work is on hand. Still other people are not avoiding work; strictly speaking, they are merely procrastinating rescheduling their day.
2011年6月大学英语六级真题及答案 Part IV Reading Comprehension (Reading in Depth) (25 minutes) Section A Directions: In this section, there is a short passage with 5 questions or incomplete statements. Read the passage carefully. Then answer the questions or complete the statements in the fewest possible words. Please write your answers on Answer Sheet 2. Questions 47 to 51 are based on the following passage. How good are you at saying "no"? For many, it's surprisingly difficult. This is especially true of editors, who by nature tend to be eager and engaged participants in everything they do. Consider these scenarios: It's late in the day. That front-page package you've been working on is nearly complete; one last edit and it's finished. Enter the executive editor, who makes a suggestion requiring a more-than-modest rearrangement of the design and the addition of an information box. You want to scream: "No! It's done!" What do you do? The first rule of saying no to the boss is don't say no. She probably has something in mind when she makes suggestions, and it's up to you to find out what. The second rule is don't raise the stakes by challenging her authority. That issue is already decided. The third rule is to be ready to cite options and consequences. The boss's suggestions might be appropriate, but there are always consequences. She might not know about the pages backing up that need attention, or about the designer who had to go home sick. Tell her she can have what she wants, but explain the consequences. Understand what she's trying to accomplish and propose a Plan B that will make it happen without destroying what you've done so far. Here's another case. Your least-favorite reporter suggests a dumb story idea. This one should be easy, but it's not. If you say no, even politely, you risk inhibiting further ideas, not just from that reporter, but from others who heard that you turned down the idea. This scenario is common in newsrooms that lack a systematic way to filter story suggestions. Two steps are necessary. First, you need a system for how stories are proposed and reviewed. Reporters can tolerate rejection of their ideas if they believe they were given a fair hearing. Your gut reaction (本能反应) and dismissive rejection, even of a worthless idea, might not qualify as systematic or fair. Second, the people you work with need to negotiate a "What if ...?" agreement covering "What if my idea is turned down?" How are people expected to react? Is there an appeal process? Can they refine the idea and resubmit it? By anticipating "What if...?" situations before they happen, you can reach understanding that will help ease you out of confrontations. 47. Instead of directly saying no to your boss, you should find out __________. 48. The author's second warning is that we should avoid running a greater risk by __________. 49. One way of responding to your boss's suggestion is to explain the __________ to her and offer an alternative solution. 50. To ensure fairness to reporters, it is important to set up a system for stories to __________. 51. People who learn to anticipate "What if...?" situations will be able to reach understanding and avoid __________. Section B Directions:There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. Passage One Questions 52 to 56 are based on the following passage. At the heart of the debate over illegal immigration lies one key question: are immigrants good or bad for the economy? The American public overwhelmingly thinks they're bad. Yet the consensus among most economists is